Worksop schoolboy, 12, achieves maximum score in Mensa IQ test

Akshath Srikanthan, a Year 7 at Gainsborough’s Queen Elizabeth's High School, has achieved the maximum score in a Mensa IQ test – a result achieved by only one per cent of those who sit the paper.

Akshath had shown interest in taking the IQ test for the last two years, and he was finally given the opportunity to sit it earlier this month without any disruptions from the pandemic.

The test is split into two papers that attempt to measure ‘mental agility’ – this includes the Cattell III B paper, which challenges verbal reasoning, and the Culture Fair paper, which only uses diagrams and pictures.

Akshath was the only child in a room full of adults to take on the Mensa-supervised challenge at Sheffield Hallam University. Taking two hours, it marked the longest test he had ever sat at just 12-years-old.

The schoolboy scored 162 in the Cattell III B test paper – the maximum result for under-18s, which saw him invited to join the elite high-IQ society, Mensa.

His mother, Purvi, owner of Today’s Local on Sandy Lane, said she was “very shocked” when she received his results in an email, especially as he had made “no special preparation” before taking the test.

Mrs Srikanthan, aged 40, said: “Me and my husband are very pleased and proud with his achievements, especially when he achieved maximum marks in the 11+ exam and secured his place at QEHS Gainsborough.”